Solid-state imaging device and driving method as well as electronic apparatus

Abstract

A solid-state imaging device includes: a CMOS image sensor including a plurality of pixels disposed in an array and each including a light reception element, a discharging unit, a charge accumulation section, a transfer unit, a reset unit, an amplification unit, and a selection unit; and a control unit adapted to generate a selection pulse for rendering the selection unit operative to control operation of the CMOS image sensor.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to a solid-state imaging device and a driving method for a solid-state imaging device as well as an electronic apparatus, and more particular to a technique for reducing generation of noise in a solid-state imaging device and a driving method for a solid-state imaging device as well as an electronic apparatus.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]A popular image sensor of the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type includes a mechanism for sequentially scanning a pixel array, in which pixels are arrayed two-dimensionally, for each pixel row to carry out reading out. This row-sequential scanning generates a displacement in time among accumulation periods with regard to different pixel rows and gives rise to occurrence of a phenomenon called focal plane distortion that a picked up image upon imaging of a moving imaging object is distorted.[0005]In imaging applications to an imagin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]However, in a video signal in recent years, increase of the number of pixels and the frame rate has been and is advancing, and the row period tends to become short. For example, in high definition television standards for imaging and displaying a dynamic picture formed from an image of 1,920 pixels horizontally and 1,080 pixels vertically at a frame rate of 1 / 60 second, the row period is 7.6 microseconds. Thus, the rate at which the overflow gate driving occupies in the transition is high, and the period which can be secured is very short.

[0013]Therefore, it is desirable to provide a solid-state imaging device and a driving method for a solid-state imaging device as well as an electronic apparatus wherein simultaneous driving of overflow gates is carried out upon sequential reading out operation such that, while an accumulation period having high simultaneity in degree of freedom in time is provided, a bad influence of the simultaneous driving is minimized thereby to reduce noise included in a picked up image.

[0031]With the solid-state imaging device and the driving method for a solid-state imaging device as well as the electronic apparatus, simultaneous driving of overflow gates can be carried out upon sequential reading out operation such that, while an accumulation period having high simultaneity in degree of freedom in time is provided, a bad influence of the simultaneous driving is minimized thereby to reduce noise included in a picked up image.

[0032]In summary, with the solid-state imaging device and the driving method for a solid-state imaging device as well as the electronic apparatus, when an image is picked up using the image sensor, generation of noise can be reduced.

Problems solved by technology

Therefore, a bad influence is had on reading of a signal such that an IR drop of a power supply line occurs or a different signal line is influenced by coupling by transition of a signal over the overall area of the pixel.

Images